Great discussion with a D1 assistant coach the other day....

My DD and a few of her teammates lift weights at an area D1 school three nights a week. The school softball team was just finishing up when we got there, and the assistant was watching them work out. We struck up a conversation with him, since we were on campus.

He had a lot to say about the recruiting process, and what our team, mostly 2015 class, should be doing. Basically, it was exposure, exposure, exposure. For him, his top three were:

1. Exposure tournaments.....making contact with coaches, repeatedly, to let them know you would be there, and try to get to as many in late October and November tourneys as you can, since that's their main recruiting time.

2. School camps..... If you're really interested in a school....get to their camp(s), and let the coach know you will be there.

3. Unofficial school visits..... Go to campus and let them know you will be there, try to meet at least with the assistant.

Bottom line, it was be persistent, but don't be afraid of rejection. At the D1 level its a business, it's not personal.

He stressed that whenever the team goes out of town for a tourney, exposure or not, we should be making time to visit whatever colleges are in the area, softball program or not. Get a feel for the type of campus a player might be interested in. Big, small? Rural, urban? Do you like the school colors? Have the player make a list of the things that she likes and dislikes about different types of schools, so she can narrow the list before she starts broadcasting emails and making phone calls. I thought this was great advice.

One of the things that we found interesting was he discussed how all the coaches talk. For instance, he knows the needs of most all the teams in his conference....if he doesn't need a second baseman, but happens to watch a stud playing that position at some tourney, he'll contact the school that is in need of a player like that and let them know. He said that for him, it's all the schools in our area, from D1 all the way down to NAIA/D3.

Finally the biggest thing was that they are focused on 2014's right now (HS sophomores) and just got their first verbal from that class. They are certainly making notes and keeping track of 2015's; especially since his program will need a pretty large recruiting class next year. This was an eye opener for our girls.

Good conversation for the girls....we coaches have been saying pretty much the same thing over and over again for the last 4 months, but now they got to hear it right from the real thing. I think it sunk in this time.

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Finally the biggest thing was that they are focused on 2014's right now (HS sophomores) and just got their first verbal from that class. They are certainly making notes and keeping track of 2015's; especially since his program will need a pretty large recruiting class next year. This was an eye opener for our girls.

I think that most parents don't understand that. They think that you start looking around at colleges during your junior year and get serious about it as a senior.

That's great stuff. And regardless of the program you are in, recruiting is usually a girl-by-girl, family-by-family thing. Some coaches (travel AND high school) DO have such great contacts they can get you placed, but girls should have the mindset to do it themselves -- and the amazing thing is they WILL succeed if they follow advice like above. It IS DO-able.

1. Don't broadcast a cheesy form e-mail to 100 schools/coaches and put all the addresses on the "TO" line. He normally just deletes those unless he recognizes a name.

2. If you know you're really interested in a school program, research the coaches. Put some personal information in the email, like ask about their playing days, or bring up some sort of connection you might have to where they are from or went to school. Something like, "my cousin graduated from University of Hawaii while you were coaching there".....it shows that the player has taken the time to do their own research so it's likely they are actually interested.

He said during the recruiting season, especially the week before a big exposure tournament, he'll get hundreds of emails. If something catches his eye in the email, he'll save it and make some notes.

That is all great info. As the SA, you have to take charge of the process. I would also create a new email account, used only for recruiting purposes. Also, if possible, do some unofficial visits. We had more than 1 coach say they would go watch any kid that took the time to come see them. We visited one or two that never came to see her also, though.

I don't think it's such a bad idea to start taking the college tests early. Way back in the mists of time, my Mom pushed me to take the PSAT my sophomore year. When I took it again my junior year, the extra practice helped me do well enough on the PSAT and the follow-up SAT to get a National Merit scholarship (which certainly helped to pay for college). Practice helps improve performance at softball...and on those tests.

Also, a lot of colleges will look at the test results and start sending your child informational material if her scores fall within the range they want. You might hear from schools that you wouldn't have otherwise known about. I remember hearing from places like Bryn Mawr, Oberlin, Grinnell, Rice, etc. They're all fine schools and I hadn't known they existed until they contacted me.

One of the things that we found interesting was he discussed how all the coaches talk. For instance, he knows the needs of most all the teams in his conference....if he doesn't need a second baseman, but happens to watch a stud playing that position at some tourney, he'll contact the school that is in need of a player like that and let them know. He said that for him, it's all the schools in our area, from D1 all the way down to NAIA/D3.

Dear Rogue,

Do you honestly believe that a coach will call another coach in their conference about a stud player that they could use. Would you like to buy the Brooklyn Bridge from me?

Do you honestly believe that a coach will call another coach in their conference about a stud player that they could use. Would you like to buy the Brooklyn Bridge from me?

I dunno. I'm sure there are some hard-nosed coaches who would never consider helping a player if it might benefit another school and I also can't believe that any coach would tell another school about a student that they themselves were interested in, but a lot of times in life, what goes around, comes around.